A Tale of Two Clean Freaks
by SimonBlackquillEatsASandwich
Summary: Jace Lightwood is a relapsing clean freak. It one day, he goes from messy to immaculate. He meets a woman in the store, and she looks like nothing he'd ever seen. She leaves before he can say anything to her, but it isn't the last time they'll meet. Maybe he'll find out that she's a bit more similar to him than he thinks? AU, Clace, AH, and T for minor cursing later in the story.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hi everyone! A new multichapter! I haven't been posting as much as before, and so I decides it was time for a new story. A new long story hopefully. I'm still taking prompts by the way. Please leave honest reviews, I'm afraid this is a tiny bit boring. I promise it'll speed up in the next few chapters. I swear it isn't all about cleaning. This is just kind of a gateway I to what happens. Anyway, tell me what you think! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments!

It was a step in the right direction for Jace Lightwood, organizing his desk. Really, more like half a step in the right direction. The rest of his apartment still looked like a family of horses had been living in it for 70 years.

Well into his teenage years, he had always kept everything so clean. White walls, no pictures. Clothes in the correct drawers. College changed that for him. There were people and friends and girls and lights and parties and too much homework (even though he only did a bit of it) and everything he could've possibly dreamed of in college. It was perfect. Except for his room, which had grown to be more messy than it had been since- well, ever. Why clean when you could party? College passed, but the uncleanliness stayed.

He was 26 now, pretty old in his book. That morning he had woken up, and his brain had talked to him. It had said, "Jace, you're a slob. Clean you're freaking apartment or I'll make you fall in love with Doreen from marketing. (Doreen was a middle aged woman who worked in his office, the marketing department. She was a very nice woman, but, you know, a little old for him.)

So, he was cleaning his desk and while the notebook sitting on it was slightly crooked, he deemed it passable.

He even took a picture and sent it to his sister Isabelle. Whenever she came over, she did nothing but tell him about how he needed to clean. She was one to talk. In her apartment, not a single square foot was organized. She was as threatening as his brain. Her threat had been a thousand times more scary. She was going to make him eat her "famous" soup if he didn't clean up. He thought maybe she was joking, but he wouldn't take his chances.

It was a Sunday, a stupidly frigid January Sunday, and he decided to spend the rest of the day cleaning up. It wasn't very exciting, but he had nothing better to do. It was a January Sunday, after all. No one did anything on those days, except for maybe people in the Southern Hemisphere. But he was not in the Southern Hemisphere, and it was way colder than it should ever be.

So, he scrubbed and scrubbed, peeling away months of grime. He organized his closet, he took his shoes of the table, he put his cleaning supplies in alphabetical order. For a man that had had an apartment as dirty as his recently was, it was a bit overboard. However, after eight years of suppressing his natural need for cleanliness, he let it all pour out. Unfortunately, he was a bit too generous with the spray, and found himself needing more. A trip to the store it is, he thought.

He dragged himself out of the kneeling position he had picked for scrubbing, and haphazardly put his coat on. (He would later realize it was inside out.)

Sighing, he trudged through the dirty snow as he made his way towards the door of the small shop. It wasn't exactly bustling, but a few people were mingling, finding that exact brand of bread, or buying some candy. He stumbled through the aisles, looking for cleaning supplies. It had been a few years, after all, since he'd cleaned like this.

Weaving in and out, he finally found what he was looking for. There it was, the kind of spray he wanted. Only one bottle left. He grinned in a way only a relapsing clean freak could, and he reached out for it. But alas, a shortish woman stepped in front of him. Her hair was unnaturally red, but he didn't see any roots. All he saw was the back of her head, red red red red red. It was mesmerizing, mesmerizing enough to make him forget the spray. Mesmerizing enough to make him stair after her for at least thirty seconds, indulging in the strawberry scent she left behind.

When he looked back, his enchantment finally wearing off, his precious spray was gone. Halfheartedly, he went to pick up the bargain version. He had heard it didn't clean as well, bit he wasn't about to wait a few days to continue his cleansing. If he worked fast enough, maybe he wouldn't have to suffer through Isabelle's soup. The first time he'd tried it, he had been 17. It was the night before an important basketball game. He, the ace, was expected to lead the team to victory. He couldn't, for he was too busy puking his guts out all over his mother's precious carpet.

Now ready to leave and resume his earlier activities, he made his way to the cash register. There were two people ahead of him. In front, being checked out, an elderly man with glasses that were thick enough to be bulletproof. Behind that man, just in front of Jace, stood the woman with the red hair. He still couldn't really see her face, as he was facing her back. Unsurprisingly, the curls had not changed in the past five minutes. He almost wanted to boing one like a kindergartner, but he restrained himself. The old man finished up and hobbled towards the door. Curls (not a very good nickname, but it was all he had) checked out rather quickly. As she walked out of the store, he only caught a glimpse, but her eyes were greener than he had ever seen.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hey, guys! Here's chapter two! Thanks so much for the favorites, follows, reads, and reviews! Not much to say here except for enjoy!

VMars lover: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the first chapter!

smon says: Thanks, enjoy chapter two! (Okay that wasn't meant to be an order but it sounded like one. Sorry, you know what I mean.)

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, I haven't gained the rights to TMI since last night.

The picture Jace had sent had made more of an impact on Isabelle than he thought it would, more than he hoped... She had become "proud", as she called it, going into full-on embarrassing older sister mode, and she wasn't even his older sister. She was two years younger.

When he had gotten back to his apartment, he'd checked his phone quickly. 10 messages. All from Izzy. No, make that eleven. As he looked, his phone buzzed again. Sighing, he took a look at them.

Isabelle: JACE! WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS!

Isabelle: YOU'VE CLEANED!

Isabelle: IT LOOKS NICE!

Isabelle: MAYBE GIRLS WITH GO OUT WITH YOU NOW, THEY DONT HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF BEING EATEN BY THE FILTH IN YOUR APARTMENT!

Isabelle: I HAVE AN IDEA!

Isabelle: I'LL COME OVER!

Isabelle: WE'LL CELEBRATE!

Isabelle: BUT NOT THE SOUP!

Isabelle: WE'LL HAVE...

Isabelle: TAKEOUT! OKAY, I'LL COME TONIGHT AT SEVEN!

Isabelle: JACE?! RESPOND!

Grimacing, he obeyed.

Jace: Iz, you do know there's a way to turn off caps lock, right?

The response was immediate. His phone buzzed and began blinking. She had stopped texting him, and instead opted for a call.

"Jace! Hey, don't give me that sass! I was just excited that my baby bro is finally cleaning again! You seem more yourself! Maybe... Maybe you'll get a cat again, like Mr. Snuffles!" Her voice was a tad louder than commonly used in phone conversations, but not any louder than usually used in Isabelle phone conversations.

"Although I doubt it'll get through to you, I would like to point out that I am not your younger brother. Second of all, I was seven when I had Mr. Snuffles. That's not my 'normal self' it's my normal seven year old self." He sounded calm, but to a girl who had had known him forever, his sister no less, it was apparent he was slightly annoyed. Not anything severe though, he had learned early on how to deal with her constant antics. Isabelle was a tornado, and like tornados, the only way to stay safe was to take cover.

"Oi, same difference! I'm kind of like your older sister, anyway! I was a Lightwood first! No denying Alec's the oldest though, he acts like a grandma from 1538." Playfully, she added a whine to her voice.

He didn't flinch as he used to when she mentioned she was a Lightwood first. Really, he didn't get upset unless someone went into detail talking about his father, and Isabelle knew better than to do that.

"Hmmm, 1538, that's rather specific, don't you think?" he asked sarcastically, not really paying attention. The green eyes and red hair belonging to the woman from the store earlier were still fresh in his mind, dancing around in parts he usually didn't use.

"Whatever, anyways, I gotta go. Simon just got home. See you at seven! Oh, what do you want from the restaurant? Never mind, you always order the same thing. Okay, bye! See you later!"

Simon Lewis, Isabelle's boyfriend. Jace was not a fan of him. In his eyes, there had always been something a little off about that guy. But for whatever reason, Isabelle loved the stupid Rat Face, so Jace did his best to be nice to him. Most of the time...

He looked at the clock, it was nearly four. Half smiling at the conversation, he stuck his fingers through the golden hair that was beginning to get rather sweaty and settled in to wash, organize, scrub, sweep,and whatever else he could possibly do to change his living space.

What had to have been minutes later, but was apparently three house later, the door to his apartment opened. He kept a spare key under the mat, and somehow Isabelle had figured out where it was, so she used that instead of knocking.

"Oh, it looks so great! Hmm, this deserves a picture!" An unsurprisingly devilish grin smothered her face, and she snapped a photo. The flash was apparently on as high as it could be, because he was practically blinded by the light that went directly into his eyes.

Knowing he probably didn't look exactly his best, he jumped up from the squaring position and hurried over to her in an attempt to delete the picture from her phone. Unfortunately, this was to no , he looked over her shoulder as he sent it to a lot of people.

"Seriously? Did you just hit send to all contacts? Izzy, you know like a thousand people!" Now he was not his containing his annoyance like before, but rather embracing it wholeheartedly.

"Oh, you're welcome!" she yelled, the smug grin gone from her face but not from her voice.

"Hmm, who's Clary?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her contacts list. Isabelle usually told him about every new person she met, insert eye roll here, but he had never heard of this girl.

"Oh, that's Simon's best friend. I met her through him, but we've become pretty close friends."

Groaning at the mention of Simon, Jace responded.

"How are you and Rat Face doing, by the way?" The snark in his voice took hold of any other emotion that might have existed there.

"He's okay, I guess. The band's been getting a bit more popular, so he's not home as often. Anyway, let's eat! I would literally kill for some chicken and broccoli!"

Letting her enthusiasm slip into his mood, he ran after her into the kitchen as they would've done back when she was eight and he was ten.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hi everyone! It's been a few days. Sorry, I was a little busy. Thank you so much to anyone who read, reviews, followed, or favorited, I really appreciate it! Anyways, nothing huge happens in this chapter, but it's definitely an important gateway into other things!

FanOfTheWrittenArt: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it, I was worried it was a little bit too... Unfitting, I guess for the characters? I won't drop it! Please don't cry!

Echomuse: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!

HunnyBook: Thank you, it's good that you're enjoying it! About the updating, I'm not really gonna set a schedule, but at least once a week.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments.

Jace wasn't sure exactly what happened since he was mostly asleep, but here's a little recap: Oh, three in the morning, what a beautiful time to be asleep. So beautiful. So sleep. Yay, sleep. I am enjo-BUZZZ BUZZZ BUZZZ. GRRRRR!

Maybe not exactly like that, but close enough. It was three in the morning, his phone was buzzing, and he was not happy about it. Most people at least shut their phone off when going to bed, but Jace hadn't gotten around to buying an alarm clock, so he used it for that, which kind of made it a bad idea to shut his phone off at night.

Blindly and wildly, he swatted his large hand in the general direction of his phone. After knocking his hand directly into a lamp and hitting a pad of sticky notes head on, his hand found it's way to the phone.

He didn't check caller ID, just put the phone up to his ear so as to get to the end of the conversation as soon as possible.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?!" he asked, not wasting energy on keeping.

"Jace, um, hi. Isabelle told me you were cleaning, so that's good." The voice that came back through the phone sounded a bit sheepish. In his exhausted state, Jace didn't realize who it was.

"WHO IS THIS?" he repeated, voice booming louder. He absentmindedly wondered if the people in the apartments above and below him would be woken up by the noise, but he didn't care all that much.

"This is Alec. So, um, like I said, Iz told me you cleaned your apartment." It was quite a desperate swipe at conversation.

"Oh, ok, that makes everything better. Just kidding. AND WHY EXACTLY DOES THAT WARRANT A CALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?" His voice really was getting a little too loud, but by that point there was no stopping him. When he was tired, he was singleminded. His brain had room for only one thing: sleep.

"Oh, um, I just thought I'd give you a call," he tried, not a very good liar.

"Alexander. Gideon. Lightwood. I lived with you for years. I am close enough to you know when you're lying. Also, you know, COMMON SENSE! Last time I checked, IT WASN'T EXACTLY CUSTOMARY TO CALL SOMEONE ABOUT SOMETHING TRIVIAL WHEN SAID PERSON IS SLEEPING! Now tell me why you called or hang up, really, it's your choice." It was a bit obvious Jace was biased on the matter of this ultimatum, but at least either way it would move things along faster.

"Yeah, so, um, should I start from the beginning?" he asked, still seeking sheepish but a bit too prideful to apologize.

"Start from where it gets important. And give me the short version. Seriously, I would've listened to the extra long version if maybe you had called when I got off of work or something."

"Well, you see, I couldn't wait until then. So, Izzy met this girl Clary through Simon, she said she mentioned her to you, and Clary has a friend, Magnus, and I met him at a little party thing Izzy threw and he's really nice and I'm pretty sure I like him and also he's coming to your apartment in like an hour minutes along with Clary and like 15 other people. See, the short version!" Through that whole speech, he didn't take a single breath. To imagine what it really sounded like, you might want to take out all of the spaces.

"EXCUSE ME?!" The short bout of calm from pure exhaustion had been replaced once again by something else pure. Pure rage, that is.

"Well, I met him like I said, and then we talked, and he asked about where I live." Alec was the middle child at 25, and after college he had moved back home. He planned for it to be only for a year or two, but then he had enrolled in a nearby graduate school, and decided to stay with his parents for the duration of that time. "I didn't want to tell him I still lived with Mom and Dad, so I told him I lived in an apartment. He mentioned his birthday was coming up, and I said we should throw a party. But instead of the traditional dusk til dawn, I suggested dawn til dusk... He loved that idea, but then I needed to give him an address, so I gave him yours... Okay, thanks, bye!"

"Hold on idiot! You're calling it off right now, and I'm going back to bed." True to his word, he flipped back into his natural sleeping position as he said that.

"No, wait, please! I really like him and what'll he say if he found out I lied? There'll be no chance of anything! Please, I am literally begging you!" His voice sounded very desperate.

"Crap, okay, but just because you're my brother. Also, I'm getting you back for this! And since I'm out of vacation days and I definitely won't be going into work tomorrow, I think it's fair enough to say you can pay me a day's salary!" In the end, he gave into his brother. He really hated the idea, but he was his brother after all, and if he didn't give it a chance and let Alec see where the relationship went, he wouldn't be much of a brother at all. Plus, he would get money...

"Yes, perfect, thank you! I'll be there in ten minutes! By the way, Clary is a really nice girl. Maybe you'll like her!" Jace scoffed, thinking he was just saying that to make him less upset, and forcefully hung up his phones. He put it back on the bedside table, figuring he might as well sleep for the next ten minutes. Apparently it'd be all he'd get until freaking dusk.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Hi, everyone! To be honest, this chapter almost didn't come out. I meant to do it at one, and here I am at ten pm writing it. Oh well, I like this chapter. Sorry, I've never been drunk before, so this portrayal of it might be slightly inaccurate. I did my best! :) Thank you so much for the reads, reviews, follows, and favorites! Enjoy the chapter!

VMars lover: Haha, thanks! Yeah, he's not too pleasant when he hadn't gotten his beauty sleep.

FanOfTheWrittenArt: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. You're right, in fact there are actually two little déjà vu moments in this chapter. Thanks, I will (unless I get abducted by aliens... Or my failing grade on that test I should be studying for. Oh well, I'll study tomorrow.)

Jace Lightwood wasn't exactly positive where he was. He knew it was his apartment, but it felt like a separate place. Like his apartment from that moment was its own separate entity, its own being. The swaying mass of people, all dancing to their own beat but yet somehow seeming cohesive, were part of that entity. He was part of that entity.

Unfocusedly, his eyes drifted over to his digital clock. It was 6 am. Suddenly feeling a bit trapped on the dance floor, he slipped away to lean against the wall for a bit. Sobering slightly, he took a look at all the people. They were all so different, and yet they threw aside those differences to have a night of fun together. It was beautiful, really. Or... Maybe his drunk self just fancied itself a philosopher.

There was blue eyes and brown hair, brown eyes and brown hair, blonde hair and green eyes, hell, there was even the opposite, blue hair and brown eyes. Standing in the middle of the apartment though, was the most beautiful combination he could think of. A combination that, in fact, seemed rather familiar.

Her hair was redder than the ripest cherry, her eyes greener than Cleopatra's emerald jewelry. And standing there in the middle of his apartment, thrashing along with the rest, was the brightest person he had ever seen. It was as if all of the other guests were there to make her look better, but she didn't need them one bit.

He was drawn to her, unable to look away, and maybe it was just his overflow of liquid courage, but he grabbed a nearby bottle of beer (half empty, but whatever) and shoved himself back into the crowd, once again feeling like he was part of some enormous united entity.

He found her, and immediately, without thinking, he shoved his face haphazardly against hers like two giddy freshmen at their first college party.

But, it all felt wrong. Her skin was scratchy, her face didn't fit against his in the right way. Awkwardly pulling away, he realized she had blonde hair. It was not the right girl. Relieved that he hadn't totally blew everything, he repeated the process, this time with the girl he had seen from the corner. This time, it did feel right. There weren't fireworks or anything, and he thought people who believed in love at first sight were deluding themselves, but it just kind of fit. Her skin was soft, her face fit against his very well, and she had the green eyes and red hair that had originally caught his eye. Some part of him in the back of his mind told him to enjoy it while he could, because it was sure he wouldn't be remembering this in the morning.

Minutes later, according to the clock that he didn't really trust it was seven hours later, he clenched his eyes, almost positive his head was being repeatedly run over by an eighteen wheeler. His stomach was also surely being messed with, and so what actually was minutes later, he was forced to rise and deposit a little pool of vomit onto his couch. Right. Onto. His. Couch. The couch that he had spent two hours washing just the other day.

His body didn't want to work together to move, and all of his muscles were being cruelly stabbed over and over again. This, my friends, is how he was gently ushered into a nasty hangover.

His trained yet rusty ears perked up to a sound, a beautiful, perfect, wonderful sound, perhaps- no, certainly his favorite sound on earth. Sighing, relaxing, he let in the amazing sound of scrubbing.  
Groaning rather loudly, he forced his shaky bones to move and got up, looking for the source of his favorite noise. What he found was not what he expected.

His apartment was completely trashed, beyond even the imagination of the most creative person. Forgetting the sound, and losing what little energy he had retained from it, his knees just buckled. All at once, everything just quit. He was almost glad when he heard and felt himself hit the floor, for it meant he could go back to sleep, magical, wonderful sleep. Unfortunately,  
He didn't get to.

"Oh my god! Are you okay? You don't look okay!" A girl who looked better than he felt, but not by much, stared back at him. Like him, she looked sticky and uncomfortable. And yet there was still something about her, something about the way her emerald eyes were the bright- crap, forget it, he thought. I'm in too much pain to be poetic.

"Why are you in my apartment?" he choked out quietly, eyes one again clenched tight.

"You threw a party for my friend Magnus last night. It was his birthday. Everyone else left, but I stayed because your apartment was really dirty. I felt bad, it was nice and clean when we got there, and I've been told I'm a total freak when it comes to cleanliness, so I decided to stay and help out a bit. If you heard some noises, that was probably me."

His brain couldn't comprehend it. A beautiful girl had stayed in his apartment to help him clean because she wanted to. It was a fantasy come true.

"And you are?" he asked, opening his eyes and once again finding the strength to stand up.

"I'm Clarissa, but you should call me Clary.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a few days! Not a whole lot happens in this chapter, but trust me, it's important. Also, this may seem like it's going a little fast, but trust me, I have a plan set out. Thank you for the reads, reviews, favorites, and follows! Enjoy!

VMars lover: Yeah, now that they know each other's names they can learn more about each other! Thank you!

Guest: No problem, here it is!

FanOfTheWrittenArt: Yeah, I know, and he worked so hard too... Thanks for the review! :)

The apartment was clean again, and Jace was feeling better after the party- mostly. He was still a little woozy, but that could've been because he was constantly subjected to cleaning fumes. It was time to go see Isabelle or Alec about hooking him up with Clary, at least it was in his little mental schedule. He wasn't quite sure about the details, but he knew it would preferably be some type of date or outing. He really really really wanted to see her again, most likely too much. But hey, she liked cleaning! And she was nice, and pretty, and she seemed smart (she had told him about the most efficient ways to get some off of surfaces.) Basically, she was a dream.

He decided to try Isabelle first because she knew her better, but if that didn't work he'd have to ask Alec, who owed him big time. As he walked down the apartment building hallway, he stopped at number 407 and swiped the key from under the welcome mat. Figuring she was still there, he opened the door.

"Iz? You in here?" he asked, getting no reply except for a very slight echo of the walls.

It wasn't tiny, but it wasn't exactly the largest apartment on Earth, so he quickly checked in each room. When there were only two or three left, he remembered he hadn't checked the bedroom. That was the most likely place for her to be. It may have been 2 pm on a Saturday, but she was fast asleep if he knew her at all.

He made his way to it, finding it from the memory of the last time he had been there, maybe a month or so before. Before he opened it, he cringed slightly, preparing for the blatant clutter and uncleanliness.

He stepped into the room, immediately noticing the pale face and pile of raven hair unceremoniously plopped onto the pillow. The apartment no longer seemed silent, for Isabelle was snoring quite loudly. Fortunately, he was used to it.

When he first moved in with the Lightwoods, they lived in a smallish house, and there wasn't enough bedrooms. Isabelle and Alec had already been sharing a room, so when Jace came he had to join them. None of them thought it was very fair, especially since Max got his own room, but their parents argued that it was because he was only four. Thankfully, they inherited a house from some great uncle or other, and it was enormous. So much so that they nicknamed it the Institute.

He stood over her, wondering what the best way to wake her up would be. Rationally, he decided to start small.

"Iz?" he whispered, poking her on the arm. There was no reply, except for maybe a snore that could be regarded as louder than the previous ones.

"Izzy?" he asked slightly louder, now poking her on the face. Still, no reply was heard.

"Isabelle!" he said forcefully. Instead of poking, he was shaking her. This brought a response, albeit a pretty small one. She groaned, letting her eyes blink open slowly as if a bomb would detonate if she rushed the process.

"Jaaaaaaaaaccccceeeeeeee... Why are you waking me up?" she questioned, dragging his name out in a mock-whine that she often used when she was annoyed with him.

"Isabelle, I have a favor to ask. A big favor. I would definitely owe you." He was trying to convince her, and he knew how much she liked it when people owed her.

"Um, what?" she asked, sitting up so that they could be face to face.

"Yeah, so, you know your friend Clary? Yeah, of course you do, what a dumb question. Anyways, so Alec made me throw a party, I'll explain later, and I don't remember the party itself but she was there and she helped me clean in the morning! She was smart, and funny, and pretty, and most important of all, SHE LIKED CLEANING! I normally wouldn't do this, but I need you to help me. I have to hang out with her or something! Ask her to help you clean up your apartment or something, and maybe I can come?" Amazingly, he didn't take a breath. By the end of the little monologue he could barely get words at, and so it was a little hard to hear.

"Woah there, bucko. Take a breath. And yay! It sounds like my plan worked!" She was pretty proud of herself, at least it sounded like it, but Jace himself was a bit worried about this so called plan.

"Um, plan?" he asked, staring her down quite openly.

"So, you know how I know Clary through Simon? Well, I got closer with Clary and noticed she seemed perfect for you. I put it in the back of my mind because I didn't know how to bring you guys together a little bit, but then she introduced me to her friend Magnus. Magnus said his type was black haired blue eyed boys. Sounds like Alec, right?" She paused, collecting her thoughts and gesturing for Jace to agree with her.

"Anyways, I was sure Alec would like him, once I opened Alec's box when we moved and it was FILLED with glitter, like Magnus's heart. So I introduced Magnus and Alec. I figured Alec wouldn't tell him that he lived at home because he's always so embarrassed of that. His birthday was coming up, and Alec would want to get on his good side by throwing a party. Magnus loves parties. Well, he would once I planted the idea in his head, which I did. He wouldn't throw it at my apartment, because he wouldn't want Magnus to think he was a slob. That left you, the clean freak." Once again, she paused, and Jace took the opportunity to look mock-offended. He was used to her calling him that, she had ever since he freaked out on her for leaving garbage in their room.

"Clary would obviously come to the party, Magnus is her closest friend besides Simon. I knew she'd want to stay and clean up because she would feel bad, she's really nice, and she hates when things are messy. You would meet her, really like her, and you'd come to me like you just did. I knew you'd come to me because I know her better. It's a win for everyone! You and Alec both find love, and I don't have to listen to you two whine about being single. Plus, three out of the four Lightwood children will have found love! Max is only 17, so whatever. He can wait." Her speech was done now, and an awkward silence filled the room. What are you supposed to say to that?

"So what I'm hearing is you manipulated us all?" he asked, although it sounded like he was looking for anger where he didn't have any.

"Yup! But in a positive way! Anyways, the cleaning my apartment thing sounds like a good idea. I'll call her. You, go back to your apartment and make yourself look nice. We have some serious cleaning to do!"


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Hey, guys! It's been longer than usual. Sorry about that, the last few days have been really busy. There was going to be a new chapter Friday, but something came up. Yesterday I had absolutely no time. So, hear I am on Sunday with the chapter. Once again, sorry about that. I'm really trying to keep updates at the rate of at least once a week, and so far that's working. Thank you for everyone who read, reviewed, followed, or favorited! Enjoy the chapter!

Meeeeeee: Yup! She's got more up there than people seem to think... Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! I am also guilty of staying up later than I should on school nights, but unfortunately it's usually because I can't fall asleep! Thanks for the review!

Naunie: Thank you! It was fun to write, coming up with Isabelle's plan and everything... *rubs hands together evilly*

FanOfTheWrittenArt: Yeah, she's a mischievous one... Thank you for the review!

Disclaimer: While it has been a few days since I updated, I haven't gained the rights to The Mortal Instruments in that time.

One frantic hour filled with showering and excessive combing later, Jace found himself in Isabelle's apartment. Unlike her surroundings, she looked well kept.

"Iz, what did you do?! This is dirtier than before!" He wasn't exaggerating. Somehow there was more dirt and dust, clothes were on the floor in places they hadn't been before, and there was what looked like a stack of books completely sprawled out across the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. That was on purpose! It should look as dirty as possible when Clary, Simon, Magnus, and Alec get here!" She was using a "duh" voice, as if he should've automatically known why her apartment was messier.

"Hold on, Rat Face, Magnus, and Alec? I thought it was just going to be you, me, and Clary." He would never admit this out loud, but it was obvious to both of them that he was whining like a small child.

"Don't throw a tantrum, geez! It'd be boring if it was just you me and Clary, especially since you guys are gonna be wrapped up in cleaning. So, I invited Simon. That IS his name by the way. Simon. Not. Rat. Face. But anyway, if you, Clary, me, and Simon were going to be there, it wouldn't be fair not to invite Magnus and Alec! They need some bonding too! Remember, this whole plot was for you AND Alec, not just you. Anyways, you look ready. I look fabulous. I'm calling them!" Apparently it was her thing to say long speeches without taking a moment to breathe.

Isabelle took out her phone. He could only hear one half of the conversations, but they mostly went something like this: "Come over now! Bring a cleaning thing. No, I don't know what! Hold on, I'll ask!"

"Jace, what cleaning supply should he bring?" she would question.

"Rags. You need lots of rags. And he could bring his vacuum if he can fit it in the car. Doesn't seem like you own one." Each time, he answered calmly.

"Rags and a vacuum! Okay, see you soon!"

Ten or so minutes later, thanks to the fact that it's kind of hard to walk around New York while carrying a vacuum, the doorbell rang. Despite internally wishing over and over, it was not Clary, but rather Rat Face. He was not very pleased.

"Go away. Sorry, Rat Face, we don't have any cheese." he said, his voice verging on a growl.

"Yeah, yeah, Goldilocks. We get it. You think I look like a rat. Doesn't really bother me. Your sister sure doesn't think that. Now let me in. I don't feel like arguing with you right now."

Next was Magnus. Jace sort of remembered him from the party, but his eyes that looked like that of a cats were still slightly shocking.

"They're contacts," Magnus simply stated when he saw Jace staring at his eyes.

Thankfully, and to his relief, Clary was next. He opened the door for her. While he was relieved, she just looked mighty confused.

"Um, why are you here?" she asked.

"I'm here because Isabelle asked me to help clean...?" he answered, uncertainty in his voice.

"Izzy said Mags, Si, and two of her brothers were coming to help. You are none of those people. You're that guy who had the party for Magnus the other day!"

He made the noise of a buzzer on a game show. "I'm sorry, your answer is incorrect! I'm Jace, Isabelle's oldest brother." She still looked confused, and so it seemed she decided to ask further.

"You don't look like them at all," she stated bluntly. He didn't mind. It was the kind of directness he would've used.

"I'm adopted," he stated simply. He was expecting her to reply some annoying variation of "I'm sorry" but her answer surprised him.

"Oh, makes sense. I am too actually." They were still standing in the door way, had been for a few minutes in fact, and they both jumped a bit when Alec walked through the still opened door.

Isabelle, who had been talking to Magnus near the sink, squealed a bit. "Great! Everyone's here! We can get started. Okay, Clary and Jace, you guys direct us. You two are the only people here who know anything about cleaning, so tell us what to do."

Jace nodded his head for a minute, taking a second to think. "Alec, do the kitchen. Scrub any dirt, and pick up the food garbage. Izzy, your bedroom. Pick up all of those freaking close, and organize it a bit." He stopped there, gesturing for Clary to figure out the rest.

"Magnus and Simon, you two take the living room. It's a big job. Pick up all of that garbage, vacuum, spray, and make that couch look presentable. The pillows are everywhere. Hmm, Jace, take the bathrooms. Organize her products and make sure the floor is clean. I'll organize the closets. Okay guys, let's get going!"


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hello peoples! How are you doing? I am exceedingly hyper today, hence the extra punctuation. Stupid allergies.. Not that that has anything to do with anything. Anyways, thank you so so so much for all the reads, reviews, follows, and favorites! Enjoy!

VMars lover: Yes, good luck indeed... Whoops that sounded creepy... Thank you!

Meeeeeee: Yup! YAY CLEANING! Actually though I kind of hate cleaning... I don't use electronics after when I'm supposed to be asleep, but sometimes I just stare at the wal thinking for like an hour... I guess that's a little weird? Thank you for the review!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments.

"Alec, move your hand in a more circular motion if you're going to spray that," Jace chided.

"And you might want to use the spray on the counter, it's a better brand," Clary added.

"Okay, forks, (note: this was autocorrected to forks from dorks, but I decided to keep it anyway because why not) we get it. You love cleaning. You are the masters of cleaning. But I don't really see you having the authority to tell us what types of motion we should use to clean the table with. Seriously. Calm down." This came from Isabelle, and let's just say she didn't look or sound like the happiest person in the world at that moment.

"Oh, er, sorry, force of habit. But by the way, you should try separating lights and dar- you know what, maybe I'll just finish that sentence some other time." It was a good catch, but it was hard for her to hide her embarrassment. It was a bit cliche, and it people said this all the time, but her face was in a race to be a deeper red than her hair, and it wasn't too far behind.

There was a slight awkward silence, but soon everyone was back to chattering slightly and doing their respective jobs. This was under the eagle eyes of Clary and Jace, by the way, and for people who had only met once, they were leading pretty well together.

Isabelle, who had gone back into her room, poked her head out of the door.

"Hey, Jace, can you come in here for a second? I'm not quite sure where I should put my sock drawer."

"Oh yeah, the bottom left is fi-" he tried to say.

"Actually, it'd be better if you could come in and show me," she responded, seemingly trying to signal something to him with her pair of obsidian eyes.

"Okay... I'll be right there...?" He put down the mop he was using to scrub the floor and warily made his way to her door. When he was right in the doorway, a manicured hand grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in, quickly attempting to shut the door without slamming it. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very successful attempt.

Neither could see it, but four heads looked up from their work and turned inquisitively to the room. All they could hear was a conversation that included a little bit of muffled yelling. Back inside, said conversation was in full swing.

"Have you talked to her yet?" questioned a frustrated Izzy.

"No... I mean, your apartment isn't that big, but we're on separate ends of it. There aren't any closets near the bathrooms."

"Then make an excuse to talk to her! Ask her for her... Scrubbing techniques or whatever." she suggested.

"Well, I have been wondering how she gets sticky foods off of plates... I've always had trouble with that. Plus, I'm a little rusty at this whole thing."

"Sure, I guess that works?" she answered unsurely, not quite positive on what he was talking about. "Now get out there!" Just as quickly as she had pulled him in, she shoved him out and went back to organizing her drawers as if nothing had happened.

He awkwardly shuffled back to his spot where he had been mopping. Desperately, he tried to think of what he said. Plate cleaning was nice and all, but it didn't really seem like the type of question that would start a meaningful conversation. Frustrated, he gave himself a deadline. If he didn't think of something before then, he'd ask her out for coffee or something as soon as they were done. Soon, Alec walked up to him.

"Um, what was that about?" he whispered.

"Oh, um, nothing much," Jace replied so very convincingly.

"So you mean to tell me that Isabelle clawed you into her room to chat about her sock drawer?" he asked sarcastically, not convinced despite valiant efforts.

"Yes, I believe that is what I mean to tell you," replied the clean freak of the two brothers in a more calm manner.

"Whatever, tell me when you want to I guess." He walked a way, turning back once to shoot one last questioning look in his direction.

A few hours later, they were done. It was a very messy apartment, but at that point the six of them had managed to make it sparkle, a pretty impressive feat. Unfortunately, a certain Lightwood brother hadn't decided to talk to a certain friend of Isabelle's yet. There had been a few acknowledging head shakes here and there, but nothing more. Time was winding down, people were gathering their stuff to leave, and he was scraping the bottom of the barrel of his mind to think of something. Anything. But as Clary put on her jacket, said her goodbyes, and made her way to the door, he still hadn't decided on anything. Desperate, he blurted something out.

"Wait!" he yelled, a little bit louder than what his preschool teacher called an inside voice. Surprisedly, she turned her head. "I was wondering if you wanted to-" Sadly, that was the second or third sentence he wasn't allowed to finish that day. A buzzing ran throughout the room. Clary took out her phone and looked at the caller idea. Her face went notice paler.

"Um, sorry, I have to take this. It's my boyfriend."


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Hey everyone! Just to clear things up a bit, I know a few people were worried about Sebastian being evil. Honestly, he isn't the greatest, but he isn't sinister. Really, he genuinely cares for Clary. In this story, Clace's obstacle isn't really a specific person, but maybe fate itself. Wow, that sounded like I was trying too hard to be deep. Anyways, thank you to anyone who read, reviewed, followed, or favorited!

Meeeeeee: Yeah, auto correct can be hilarious and insanely annoying all at the same time. For some reason, my friends and I call it Trevor... (Don't ask...) I know, right? Before writing this I always thought it was perfectly acceptable to drag people to stare at sock drawers with me! Okay, I'll say it right here and now. There will be Clace. Please don't lose your... That... Yes, it's Sebastian, but he ain't as bad as many people, including myself, usually portray him to be. Don't apologize for a long reviews! I really like seeing what people think! Thanks!

VMars lover: Hmm, not necessarily... DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNN! Thanks for the review!

FanOfTheWrittenArt: Uh oh is right! Mwahahhahahaha! Thanks!

Disclaimer: If you're under the impression I own the Mortal Instruments, you're sadly mistaken.

And with that one simple statement, everything came crashing down neatly at his fingertips. Internally, he was fuming slightly in the general direction of the universe. At Isabelle, who had for some reason deemed it unimportant that Clary had a boyfriend, at said boyfriend for simply existing, and at himself. He fumed at himself, for he had allowed himself to get his hopes up, and that is one of the more dangerous things a human can do.

Externally, though, he tried to keep himself bright. He did not want to seem like all he wanted from her was a relationship and now that that was off the table he was uninterested in a friendship. Settling an unfortunately unnatural smile on his face, he watched her walk into the corner for some privacy. Still he watched as she smiled with ease, watched as she laughed at a joke that he couldn't hear. The conversation continued on, and he looked away.

He turned a bit, and saw his sister rushing towards him, looking absolutely horrified. Letting a bit of that internal nonsense slip into his voice, words, and eyes, he asked a simple question.

"Would you like to explain to me why you failed to inform me that she had a boyfriend?" Taking the liberty of at least trying to mask his annoyance, he tried to lighten the mood a bit by using jokingly formal vocabulary.

"I-I had no idea," she admitted, apparently going through a bit of a revelation herself.

"How the hell did you not know? I thought you guys were close friends!"

"Well, I don't know her that well. I mean, we were fast friends, but we haven't had any deep conversations or anything. And mostly when we hang out Simon comes along, so I guess the topic never really came up...?" Great. She hadn't even thought about her having a boyfriend before she set him up with her. Isabelle Lightwood, for all of her brilliance, had infrequent moments like these when her whole plans came crumbling. Unfortunately, this time it happened to be the one Jace was very much hoping would succeed.

"I just-" Not that he was counting, but it happened to be the fourth time he was interrupted on that fine day.

"Sorry about that, guys. Seb is coming to pick me up. We're going to..." She unconsciously ruffled her scarlet hair and looked down at her phone, searching for the name of whatever place. "Toso Bara, a new sushi place in town. He said he'll be here in fifteen minutes."

"Great!" Isabelle exclaimed. Her fake smile was much more believable than that of her brother's.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Clary suddenly said. "Why don't you guys come with us? Everyone worked really hard on cleaning, we deserve a little fun!" His heart dropped even more. He didn't know how to explain that to him, the cleaning had been fun. Opening his mouth, he went to decline, only to be interrupted.

"We would love to! Magnus and Alec can't come, they said they had plans already or something, but Jace, Simon, and I would come! As long as we're not imposing on a special occasion or something."

"Of course not! It'd be great for you guys to come. We can get to know each other a little better!" Her positive words were distracting, and while she tried to keep her mouth muted, her emerald eyes were as bright as always.

Isabelle smiled, this time genuine. "Sounds great! What do you say, Jace?"

As it seemed he didn't have much of a choice in the matter, he responded. "Sure, sounds great..."

"Awesome, I'll text the change of plans now!" she chirped.

And that's how ten minutes later, not exactly under his own free will, Jace was walking the crowded New York streets with his sister, her dreadful boyfriend, the girl he really liked, and her boyfriend that he hadn't really had much time to judge, but had decided on negative feelings for before they met.

"I'm really excited! I heard the food there is really good!" This chatter came from a person he didn't have enough energy to identify. From then on, he stopped listening until they finally made it to the packed restaurant.

He gazed at the menu, trying to focus on something that he didn't currently find unbearable. Caterpillar roll, dragon roll, Boston roll, seafood salad. It was filled with items he had grown up with on nights his family had takeout and items he had never before laid eyes on.

They settled at a table, all intently deciding what to order. It was his absolute favorite person who broke the, in his opinion, very much welcome silence.

"So, I know Simon obviously, but how do you know Isabelle and, um, Jace, was it?" questioned the man whose black hair made him seem rather imposing.

"Yeah," Jace quickly replied.

"Iz is Simon's girlfriend, and Jace is her brother. We all worked hard on cleaning and stuff today, so I figured we deserved to relax a bit."

"Actually, I find cleaning rather relaxi-" Sadly, it was not his day for finishing sentences. Replying as if he hadn't even said anything, Sebastian spoke.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you guys were going to clean an apartment or something today. How was that?" Thankfully, no one got a chance to reply.

From across the room, a voice called his name. He recognized it faster than he realized he could. It wasn't a voice he had missed exactly, but in that moment it was a very welcome sound.

"Jace!" she called.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Hey, guys! I think maybe I should officially make the update schedule every three days. I know that's a little bit specific, but I noticed for the few chapters that's about how lon it's been between updates. What do you guys think? Thanks so much for reads, reviews, follows, and favorites!

Meeeeeee: Sorry! Sometimes it just feels natural. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I didn't mean there'd be Clace IN that chapter. I meant the story would have Clace in it. (They'll eventually get together and stuff." Although, I am still deciding whether they should end up together in the end or not. It doesn't really bother me when other people curse, I just don't like to curse often myself past minor words. Wow, that sounded kind of lame... Anyways, do whatever you want! In my opinion, the choices people make are their business and whatever it is is fine as long as those choices aren't hurting other people. Woah sorry didn't mean to drop my opinions all over you... I know exactly what you mean! I always get really weird and excited when a long review comes in! I love hearing what other people have to say, and I like how it becomes a conversation even though it's through the story! Oops, I think the response is even longer this time...? Thanks for the review!

Guest: Nope, he doesn't currently have one. He and Aline may have some history though... Read the chapter to find out! Thank you for the review!

ohmymultifandom: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Also, this is random, but I like your username! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments.

"Jace!" she called, walking over quickly with her long back hair trailing down her back.

"Aline!" He replied, slightly shocked to see her.

"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in, god, I haven't seen you in eight years!"

"What about you? I thought you moved to Chicago!" Her showing up was a welcome surprise amidst the annoyance of the past hour which hadn't been going very well.

"I've been back in Manhattan for more than a year! How'd we never see each other?" she asked.

"Manhattan is a big place. Listen, are you here with someone? We should catch up!" He looked around the table. Isabelle and Simon were having some deep conversation, and Clary and Sebastian were laughing to each other as if no one else existed. No one was really paying attention.

"I was actually waiting for a friend, but she literally just called saying she can't make it! I'd love to sit down and talk with you! It, uh, really has been a while, hasn't it?" He chuckled in reply, nodding clearly.

"Yeah, I haven't really seen you since your graduation party," she mused.

"Was that really the last time?" he questioned, somewhat disbelievingly.

"Yup, I'm pretty sure. Oh my god, we were such idiots!" she mused, laughing loudly. It didn't really matter, as the restaurant was quite packed.

A few minutes later, as they were reminiscing, Isabelle finally looked up. She was the only one who had been there during his high school days, so she was the only one who remembered Aline.

"Ally?" she asked. It was an old nickname she sometimes used. Aline was in the grade below Jace the grade above Isabelle, and Alec's grade, so she managed to be pretty good friends with all of them thanks to the closeness in age. They were like cousins.

"Iz!" she replied, running over to give the younger girl a hug. Clary, who had just looked up thanks to the commotion was looking rather confused.

"Who's this?" she questioned. Sebastian too looked up, wondering the this girl was that had captured his girlfriend's attention.

"This is Aline: me, Iz, and Alec's friend from high school! And, uh, we used to go out for a little while, but that ended really quickly. It was too awkward since we were friends." He cringed slightly at the last part of his explanation. While they had quickly gotten over it, it was still a little bit of a dark time in his life. For a short while after the breakup, he had lost one of his closest friends.

"Oh, um, nice to meet you!" chirped Clary, yet there was a hint of falseness in the midst of her enthusiasm.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but who are you three?" Aline asked, gesturing to Clary, Simon, and Sebastian.

Simon went first. "I'm Izzy's boyfriend. My name is Simon."

Next was Clary. "I'm Izzy's friend Clary! I met her through Simon, but our friendship has kind of grown into its own thing."

Lastly, and awkwardly bluntly, was Sebastian. "Clary's boyfriend. Sebastian." He didn't even bother to use full sentences. He didn't mean to be rude, but he was often a cold person to people he wasn't close with.

"Mary, Sigmund, and, um... Adaption?" she asked, not really having been able to hear any of them.

"Clary, Simon, and Sebastian," recalled Isabelle, speaking with a louder voice than they had.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, feeling pretty awkward that she hadn't even managed to hear their names correctly.

"Don't worry about it, it's pretty loud in here," replied Simon, smiling and shaking her hand as a sign of good faith.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Aline responded, glad they weren't offended.

As the minutes went on, conversation continued. However, instead of two small groups and one person left out, they were all chattering to each other about this and that.

An hour or two later, he headed home. Doing this and that, sweeping here and there, he tried to convince himself that it didn't bother him that Clary had a boyfriend. Tried being the key word, this didn't really work out too well. Not knowing what else to do, he called Alec, wondering if hanging out with his brother would get his mind off of things. Quickly he agreed, and in ten minutes or so he arrived.

Unfortunately for Jace, the first words out of his mouth were, "Isabelle told me what happened. Sorry, that really sucks."

Not wanting to talk about it, he played dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied smoothly, but if you looked closely you could see a few blonde hairs on his eyebrow twitch.

"Don't lie to me, I can see right through you. Unrequited love, or unrequited like in this case, can really suck."

"How would you know?" he asked, curiously relenting.

"Well, once upon a time eleven years ago, I was a fourteen year old boy. I had a crush on a fifteen year old boy. Said fifteen year old boy is now my brother. But, uh, it was before Mom and Dad finalized the adoption, when you were still a foster."

"Do you- do you mean... Me?" he asked, completely shocked. He prided himself on being able to read other people's emotions, and yet he had never even gotten a hint of that from Alec.

"Yeah, I know that's a little weird. Even to me it sounds totally strange now. Ever since I got over it, you've just been my brother."

"Er, wow... Maybe we could, uh, talk about something else?" he asked, still shocked at this new piece of information.

"Sure. Um, how about those Yankees?" he asked jokingly.

"Idiot," he replied, but there was a huge smile on his face.


End file.
